No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Redux
by Meowth's Toon Dragon
Summary: When a heroic deed from Meowth's past lands him and Team Rocket in grave danger, can the help of some new allies save them from a gruesome end?
1. The Beginning of it all

No good deed goes unpunished

Disclaimer: This fic is rated M or R for graphic violence, adult language, and mature themes. Oh, and I don't own most of the characters in the fic. Nintendo does.

This is it... after putting it off for months and months... the new version of NGDGU is finally underway... new characters... new backstories... new everything... Here... we... go...

--

"Hee hee hee..."

That was all that could be heard in the darkness as the sound of maniacal and depraved laughter rang out

"Soon, I'll get that little freak for making a fool out of me!"

The screen was illuminated very dimly as a shadowy figure could be seen in a shack with nothing in it but a door, a full bottle of vodka, a table, and a newspaper clipping on the wall filled with holes

"It should've been my greatest kill, my most delicious victim,", the voice screamed, a touch of shrillness slowly appearing, "MY BIGGEST FEAST!!"

The bottle of vodka was thrown against the news clipping, where it shattered upon impact showering the ground with alcohol and broken glass

"He will pay for making a fool out of me! He will pay for wrecking what would've been my crowning achievement!"

The figure got up and as he stood in the dim light, only his shark-like grin could be seen as the rest of his face was cloaked in the shadows

"He.. Will.. Suffer.."

As the figure started to laugh, madness laced into his laughter, a black-haired boy, with his face covered by a red bandana and a pair of dark black shades and sporting a black jacket covering a black t-shirt and jeans, could be seen with his ear against the door of the cabin housing the room and the figure with what appeared to be a long covered object hanging strapped to the back of his jacket. A thick forest could be seen past the boy's figure.

"Oh sweet Jesus..", the boy whispered frightfully

The figure took out a pistol and aimed it directly at the newspaper clipping, already looking like it was moments from completely disentergrating

"When I find him.:"

As he pulled the trigger, the bullet could be seen going into a photograph on the clipping. When it hit the clipping, the whole of the article fell apart leaving only a small part of the clipping intact, namely a grainy photograph. As the smoke from the bullet entry dissapated, it was clear to see that the photograph was of a certain cat-pokemon.

"That Meowth will be sent straight to hell to join my family!!

The boy pulled his ear away from the door, clearly alarmed and panicked

"If Harris finds Meowth.. he'll tear him in two.. I can't let that happen!!", the boy thought, panicked

Suddenly, the sound of flapping wings could be heard as a brown flying duck pokemon, otherwise known as a Farfetch'd, came to rest on the boy's shoulder. Unusally for a Farfetch'd, there was no sign of the leek commonly found with the duck-pokemon

"I've found him! I've found him!" Farfetch'd squawked softly, clearly excited. The fact that the pokemon could speak plain english didn't seem to faze the boy in the least

"You did??", the boy asked hopefully, "When??"

"Just a few minutes ago!", the pokemon replied happily

"Please, show me where!"

"Follow me!", Farfetch'd whispered, pointing its wing towards the horizon and taking off, flying

But as the boy ran off, following Farfetch'd, he failed to notice the shadowy figure come out of the cabin a few seconds later. The figure reached into his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a silver lighter. He opened the door and, after sparking up the flame, tossed the lighter into the cabin. As he walked stoically away from the cabin, the flame from the lighter made contact with the spilled vodka and within moments, the whole cabin had exploded into flames! But the figure wasn't even fazed as the cabin quickly turned into nothing but a pile of ashes.

"The flames of Hell have no fury compared to mine!"

These were the last words the figure muttered before walking away from the burning wreckage and out of the forest where the cabin had once stood. Meanwhile, not but a few feet away, Jessie, James, and Meowth had come in for a crash landing after another unsuccessful attempt at nabbing Ash Ketchum's Pikachu

"Day after day, we try to capture that damn rodent!", the reddish-purple haired female lamented, sore and bruised from the landing

"Yet day after day we keep getting blasted off!", the blue-haired male moaned, equally sore

"With all these blast-offs, we should be in N.A.S.A.!", the cat-pokemon groaned, feeling pain in places he never knew he had

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps approaching reached the cat-pokemon's sensitive ears

"Hey someone's coming!", Meowth noted, excitedly

"Maybe they've got pokemon on them!", Jessie said, with new hope in her voice, "Meowth quick, get behind the bushes and wait for whoever it is to pass by.."

"Then pounce on them and snatch their poke-balls!", Meowth finished, immediately knowing what the plan Jessie had in mind was

"Can't we just rest here for a minute first?", James moaned, still very sore from the crash landing

Jessie didn't even respond to James's question, but simply yanked him by the ear and dragged him into the bushes with Meowth following close behind. Soon enough, after they got into positions, the Farfetch'd from earlier came flying through and as soon as the black-haired boy came running through, Meowth immediately leapt into action... LITERALLY

"Give us your pokeballs!!", Meowth yelled as he sprang towards the boy

The boy turned around and didn't even have time to scream before he was tackled by the cat-pokemon. Farfetch'd had already turned around upon hearing Meowth's cry and, after landing on the ground, was hiding behind a tree looking nervously at his friend on the ground.

"What's going on??", the boy asked, traces of fear in his voice

"I said give us your pokeballs!!" Meowth repeated, annoyance creeping into his own voice

"Is... is that you?", the boy asked softly.

"Huh??" the cat-pokemon asked, confused, as he slowly got off the boy's chest

"It's you... You're the talking Meowth that saved me all those years ago..."

"I don't know what you're talking about kid." Meowth uttered, dusting himself off.

The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a newspaper clipping, one identical to the one the figure from before had been shooting at

"Maybe this will remind you...", the boy said softly, handing the clipping to Meowth

Meowth took the clipping from him and started reading it. As he read deeper and deeper into the article, a shocked expression started to form on his face as if he was remembering a long-forgotten memory

"No. This is a joke, right?"

"You tell me..."

The boy reached behind his head and undid the knot that held his bandana together. As the bandana and shades fell off the boy's face, Meowth gasped and almost became physically sick at the sight of the boy's face.

"My... my... my god..."

It was then that the boy's countanence became truly visible and the cat-pokemon could see that his face was horribly ravaged. Along with having no nose left, just a patch of scarred, stretched skin between his eyes and mouth, a dark jagged lightning-shaped scar was running down his left eye, the blood-red of the iris a sharp contrast to the violet hue of his right. On his right cheek lay a set of stitches holding together the split flesh of what used to be his cheek. The cut in the skin was so massive that, even WITH the stitches, the bone was still faintly visible beneath the black lines holding together the split flaps of flesh. The black hair covering the boy's ears was pressed back behind the lobes, revealing the large chunk of cartilege and flesh missing from the left ear and showing the scarred area from where the wound was cauterized.

"Now do you remember?", the boy asked softly, "Please tell me you do..."

Meowth started to nod, but could feel the nausea from the massive shock inside him growing and knew he couldn't hold it in any longer. Dropping the news clipping beside him, he ran to a nearby trashcan and, leaning his head inside it, threw up. As he felt wave after wave of bile pour from his mouth, he could hear the sounds of Jessie and James coming out of the bushes and walking towards him and the boy.

"Meowth what's taking so long? Stealing a bunch of pokeballs isn't like rocke--", Jessie started to complain. It was then that she and James noticed the disfigured face of the boy standing nearby where Meowth was retching and screamed in fright.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU... WHO ARE YOU?!", the two humans yelled

The boy sighed softly, took a deep breath, and gave a soft reply

"My name is Josh Valentine... I owe my even being here to your Meowth..."

"How... how exactly DO you owe your life to Meowth?", James asked, confused as all get out

"What happened to your face?!", Jessie blurted out, unable to stop herself

It was then that Meowth, who'd managed to finally stop throwing up, weakly walked over and handed the clipping to Jessie

"This article explains it all.", the pale-faced cat-pokemon said, groaning

Jessie took the clipping from him and started to read it.

"Murderer caught thanks to talking Meowth.", she read, her voice going softer and quieter as she read the meat of the article. When she'd finally finished, she lowered the article and could only stare at Meowth with a strange look on her face

"Is... is this true, Meowth?", she asked, almost not wanting to believe what she had just read

Meowth took a deep breath, wiped his mouth off with the back of his paw, and gave his quiet answer

"Yes.. yes it is.."

All Jessie and James could do for a few seconds was just stare in shock at their pokemon companion

"But... But how??", James asked

Meowth sighed and started to tell what had happened...

"It all happened like this.."


	2. The Rescue from Hell

Here we go... the second chapter... let's do this... reviews are apprieciated, but all flamers will be suplexed through a window and I mean it!

--

The screen started to grow wavy as Meowth began to tell his story. By the time the screen had finally come back into normal view, the background had changed to back to 1 day after Meowth had been dumped by Meowsie and the cat-pokemon could be seen walking through a town with his possessions in a bag marked "To Parts Unknown"

"It was only a day after Meowsie said she could never love me because I'd become a lowly freak Meowth and I was already starting to feel pretty low.", Meowth's voice lamented sadly over the background, "With my dreams dashed like a cheap vase, I'd started my trek towards joining Team Rocket. I'd figured a talking pokemon like me could at the very least get a place to stay down there as a rare pokemon. What would happen on that day though... would be something I'd never forget.."

At that point, the V.O. faded away to show Meowth tearfully walking through the town, his eyes filled with despair and rage over his recent rejection

"So she thinks I'm nothing but a freak?!", Meowth spat bitterly, "Well I'll show her! I'll become a star in Team Rocket. Then she'll be sorry!"

As Meowth walked past an old run-down house, the sound of a boy crying inside echoed out the window and entered into Meowth's eardrums. Being more than a little curious, even for a cat-pokemon, he ran to the house's side window and took a look inside... what he saw would change his life forever...

"What the.."

Inside the window's view was a bare room only holding in it a younger Josh Valentine whose hands and feet were tied up and whose face was so battered and bloody that it looked more like raw hamburger meat than a human countenance anymore.

"Hey kid??", Meowth asked softly

Josh, as heard Meowth's voice from the window, turned his head halfway towards it with tears running down his cheek.

"Who... who's there...", he whispered

"Just me... your everyday talking Meowth!"

"But... but how?! I thought Pokemon couldn't talk!"

Meowth sighed deeply before he replied

"Normally they can't... It's a long story, kid. But I see you're kinda tied up at the moment..."

"Help.. me..." The kid whispered softly

"What??", Meowth asked, unable to hear what the boy said the first time thanks to his low voice

"Help me, please.", he repeated, tones of fear wrapped in his words, I've been trapped here for 10 days! This sicko, Harris, has kept me stuck in here. He's already killed my parents...

"What?! Why??"

"He... he never said... But from what he's done to me..."

The kid turned fully towards the cat-pokemon and it was only then that Meowth could see the full damage that had been inflicted upon the boy. His nose was all but gone, only bits of dried cartilege and blood where it once was... The right cheek, possibly once dimpled and rosy, had been ripped open, revealing the blood-stained bone underneath while the left one, while still together, was full of cut marks and scratches. It was all Meowth could do to keep from retching at the ghastly sight

"I think he may be trying to eat me..."

"That... that... bastard... Well, he won't get another bite out of you..."

The cat-pokemon leapt down off the windowsill and immediately ran towards the kid

"...cause I'm gonna get you outta here!"

Josh smiled gratefully at Meowth as the cat-pokemon got behind the kid and started clawing at the ropes binding his hands. But when the cat-pokemon had gotten halfway through the ropes, the eerie sound of footsteps approaching entered into the room

"Shit! It's him! If he catches you here, we're both dead!"

"Don't worry. I've got a plan!"

Just as the door to the room started to open, Meowth ducked down behind Josh

"That's your plan?!", the boy whispered angrily as the door opened and a man with long black hair and a 5 o'clock shadow staggered into the room, carrying an empty bottle of vodka

"What's going on in here?!", the man asked, his voice oozing with rage

"N-n-n-n-noth-h-h-ing B-B-B-Belger..." The kid managed to stammer out

Harris leaned towards Josh and spat right in his face

"Don't sound like nothin'.", he whispered, sounding like an outlaw from the old west, "Sounds like you got someone else in here!

"I'm the only one in here, I swear!"

As the words left Josh's mouth, the scent of the liquor on Harris's breath reached Meowth's nostrils and, instinctively, made him start coughing and gagging

"YOU'RE LYING!!", Harris roared as he heard the sounds coming from behind the kid

"No, I...I swear I'm not!!

"You're lying... and you know what I do to liars!!"

It was then that Harris bashed the vodka bottle against Josh's face, one of the pieces of glass going straight through his left eye and causing him to scream in pain as he felt his eyeball split in half. Upon seeing the burst eye, Harris dipped his finger against the teen's slowly-emptying eye socket and tasted the blood and watery fluids emerging, a disgusting smile slowly forming on his lips

"Mmmmm...", Harris moaned in delight, savoring the taste of blood, "Almost tender enough... to eat..."

Harris finally left the room, slamming the door behind him. After the door closed, a pale-faced Meowth came out from behind the terrified boy with a look of utmost revolt and horror on his face.

"Holy...", Meowth managed to gasp out, "Dat's Harris?? DAT'S IT! I'm getting ya outta here!"

Filled with even more fierce determination, Meowth was finally able to free Josh from the ropes surrounding his hands and feet

"There we go!", Meowth exclaimed, putting his paws against his sides proudly

The kid was finally able to get up and give the cat-pokemon a huge hug

"I am forever in your debt, Meowth...", Josh whispered gratefully

"Use it wisely...", Meowth replied coyly

Suddenly, the door flew open and as Meowth and Josh looked on in terror, Harris stood in the doorway, toting a shotgun

"So... You thought you could be rescued... Well, we'll see how savable you are when I blow both of your brains out all over the fucking room!!"

Harris started to aim his shotgun square at the boy's head, but as soon as he started to pull the trigger, Meowth leapt up and gave the psycho a MASSIVE set of slashes to his face, causing him to scream and drop the gun

"Blow THAT, you pathetic human!!", Meowth shot off as he quickly leapt off of the madman's face and onto the floor as Harris fell to the floor covering his face as blood started to drip through his fingers

"My eyes! My eyes!", Belger yelled in pain as Josh and Meowth just looked on in shock at the man on the floor

"What now, Meowth?"

"We run!"

Josh and Meowth climbed out the window and ran off, leaving Harris to lay on the floor clutching his bloody face while Meowth's voice rang out again

"Me and the kid ran to a nearby police station and let them know what happened. Harris was arrested for the murder of the kid's parents and I was called a hero."

The screen grew wavy again as the scene went back from Harris writhing on the floor to Team Rocket and Josh in the forest

"And that's what happened."

Jessie and James were both left spell-bound by this tale. Up until now, the Meowth they'd always known had never risked his life like that to save another human.

"Shortly afterwards, I had to have major reconstructive surgery done on my face to repair as much damage as could be done... I lost my nose, my eye, most of my ear, my right cheek... all just to keep me alive... But no matter how many operations they do... No matter how matter stitches they sow..."

The teen looked down, letting a single tear fall from his eye before continuing

"They will never be able to seal the scars in my soul..."

James started to reach his arm out to comfort him, but a soft voice interrupted the blue-haired man...

"So that's what happened to your face..."

As Meowth, Jessie, and James watched in awe, Farfetch'd came out from behind the tree and waddled over to where Josh was standing

"You... you can talk?!", James screamed in shock, "But I thought only Meowth could do that!!"

Farfetch'd sighed and only said "It's a very complicated story" before he turned towards his friend, newfound respect and sorrow on his face

"Why... why'd you never tell me??", the wild-duck pokemon asked woefully

"I had hoped to erase the horror of it from my mind... but now I realize that is something I will never be able to truly purge from my mind..."

"Wow...I guess Meowth really did save your life.", Jessie admitted, finally believing that Meowth had indeed rescued the teen from his grisly fate... sort of..

"Soon it may be my turn to save his, and possibly yours as well."

"How so?"

"Yeah, Harris got locked up in a maximum-security prison!"

Suddenly, the dark realization of what the teen was implying struck the cat-pokemon and his eyes grew wide and frightened

"No... Please tell me you don't mean..."

The teen nodded solemnly and confirmed Meowth's worst fear

"Somehow...Harris escaped last night.."

"No...", Farfetch'd gasped in horror

"And he's after you... to destroy the one who put him away..."

Meowth fainted into James's arms while Jessie looked like she'd just heard the end of the world was near


	3. Entrance of Youth

Come on... Someone... ANYONE... review this... Please... don't make me get midevil on your asses...

--

Meowth had just fainted into James's arms and the look on Jessie's face was nothing short of disbelief and terror

"You mean that madman's out to kill Meowth?!"

"Not just kill him... But make sure not enough of him is even left to be buried"

Jessie and James looked at Josh with a look of digust

"What do you mean?", Jessie asked shuddering

Josh gave a sad sigh before he went on. "You see, Harris doesn't just kill his prey... he massacres them... If you have a computer, I can show you reports of what he's done to his victims in the past, so you can understand what kind of monster is after Meowth. Do you?"

"Well we did just steal that PC from the store the other day." Jessie admitted

"Along with a modem, scanner, webcam, cd burner..", James added

"OK! OK!", Josh interrupted, "All that's needed is the PC and the modem. Only problem is, how do we get to your place safely?"

"No problem. I've got just the guy.", Jessie said before she pulled out a cell-phone from her skirt pocket and dialed up a number "Hello.. hey, Mondo.. We need a ride back to our hideout.. as soon as you can get here.. no, we don't need snacks at the moment.. ok, hope to see you soon."

As Jessie put away her cell, a question immediately entered into the wild-duck pokemon's mind

"Excuse me... Miss Jessie...", he said timidly

"Yes, Farfetch'd?", Jessie answered, getting used to having another talking pokemon around and actually starting to like him

"I'm just curious... Who IS that Mondo person you called?", he asked

"Oh, he's our go-to guy. He provides us with food, supplies, transportation, whatever we may need.", Jessie replied

"Ah...", the wild-duck pokemon said, knowing he had his own go-to guy in his friend

"But what about Meowth?", James asked, noticing the cat-pokemon hadn't woken up, "He's still out cold!

"Leave that to me.", Jessie said with a very coy smile

Jessie knelt down next to Meowth and pulled out a can of tuna from her pocket, along with a penknife. As she did, Josh couldn't help but wonder something..

"How the hell's she able to carry all that stuff in her pockets!", Josh asked James, "The skirt doesn't look that long!"

"It's a mystery that's been on my mind for at least the last 5 years.", James answered, having wondered that from the day he first saw Jessie take the giant mallet out of her skirt

Josh cocked an eyebrow towards James's direction as Jessie used the penknife to pry open the tuna can

"The scent of this tuna'll get him up in no time!", she said brightly

"I think we figured that out when you pulled out the knife.", James muttered, a little annoyed at the implication that he didn't know what the can of tuna was for. He knew he wasn't always the brightest at times, but he wasn't as out of the loop as Jessie made him out to be at times

Jessie put the open can near Meowth's nose and, sure enough, the aroma of the tuna inside soon roused him out of his blackout

"Wha... what happened?", Meowth asked softly, still getting back his bearings. It was then he saw the open can of tuna besides him, "Hey look, fish!" Meowth dug into the can, gobbling down its contents as Jessie looked on, a smug look on her face

"So how long til' Mondo arrives with the jeep?", James asked, looking at Meowth chowing down on the tuna. The words had barely left his mouth when a green jeep started to pull up, a brown-haired boy at the wheel

"I'd say a few microseconds.", she said, grinning, as she turned to wave at the driver of the jeep, shouting "Hey Mondo!"

As Mondo climbed out of the jeep and started to walk towards the female member of the group, Josh could see he was wearing the same uniform as Jessie and James

"Hey Jess, how's it goin'?", Mondo said to Jessie, shutting the jeep door behind him

"To be honest, I'm not sure anymore!"

"What do you mean?"

"Everything I thought I knew about Meowth... may have been all wrong..."

"I don't follow..."

"Ahem!"

The loud throat-clearing came from Josh as he watched everyone turn towards him, his head lowered towards the ground

"Look, I don't want to be the one to be rude...", Josh started to say, his black hair covering his ravaged face, "but could we please get going... There's a lot I need to show you all.."

"Of course... You want me to stay with you guys a little when we get there??", Mondo asked innocently

"YES, WHATEVER, LET'S JUST GO!", He yelled, his hair flying back and revealing to Mondo his mutilated countanence. The young member of Team Rocket stepped back, a little shocked by the stranger's outburst, and the sudden realization of the stranger's disfigurement

"Whoa... What happened to you??", he asked, caught off-guard

"We'll explain on the way. Alright?", Jessie answered as she headed towards the jeep

"Ok..", Mondo said, following after her.

Mondo got in the jeep, followed by Jessie, James, and Josh with Farfetch'd perched on the back of the jeep. But Meowth just sat on the grass finishing off the tuna, as Jessie grew impatient with the scratch-cat pokemon

"Hey you mangy alley-cat! Get in!!", Jessie yelled, reaching over Mondo's shoulder and honking the horn VERY loudly, startling Meowth to the point where he leapt about a foot in the air. The whole scene broke her and James up into a fit of giggles, although the other 3 in the jeep didn't find it so funny

"DON'T DO THAT!!", Meowth screamed, rubbing his sore rump where he landed before getting up to head into the jeep.

As Meowth climbed into the jeep and the 5 of them took off with Farfetch'd flying right behind them, a shadowy figure popped up from the bushes near where the jeep had originally parked...

"Hee hee...", the figure chuckled in a decidely feminine tone, laced with a touch of coldness, "And so... it begins..."


	4. Tales of the Devil

If you're wondering why I don't put the disclaimer before each chapter... I just feel like that gets repetitve... You all know I don't own Pokemon nor Team Rocket... if I did, I'd be a very rich man... All I own are Josh and Harris...

And BTW, like I've requested before... please review!

--

10 minutes later

Meowth had just finished telling Mondo the whole story about his saving the kid's life, his face growing more and more sorrowful...

"So you're saying that you actually rescued this kid from a murderer??", Mondo asked, his eyes wide as dinner plates

"Uh-huh."

"..and now he's out to kill YOU?"

"Looks dat way...", Meowth answered, shuddering a little in fear

"Part of me wants to believe you...", Mondo started to say before he turned his attention fully to the road, "but part of me wants it to be a lie..."

"I understand why you'd want that..", Josh said softly, "I wish it was all a lie myself... I really do... but it's all true... and I can prove it too..."

Finally, they pulled up to a cabin with a mailbox out front reading Jessie/James/Meowth

"Here we are!", Mondo shouted as he stopped the jeep and climbed out, "Rocket Residence!"

"Dump, sweet dump..." Meowth said jokingly as he got out of the jeep

James, Josh, and Jessie climbed out slowly and entered the cabin as Farfetch'd flew in after them

"Hmm.. Nice feng-shui arrangement.", Josh couldn't help but mutter as he looked around the cabin's interior for the computer, admiring all the plants, the cozy-looking furniture, even the dartboard of what appeared to be a black-haired boy wearing a red cap and with a Pikachu on his shoulder. Finally, he found the media table where the black-framed monitor of the computer, the gray keyboard, and the red power tower rested with a small blue modem laying on the very top of the frame and he motioned for everyone to join him by the P.C. As everyone sat around the teen, he turned on the computer and, after it loaded up, logged onto the internet

"Now I must warn you all, these reports are NOT pretty. So if you have weak stomachs, I'd suggest either looking away, or getting a barf bag handy."

In response, Jessie pulled out 6 paper bags and handed them out to everyone, keeping one for herself. But when she handed Josh his, the teen promptly crumpled the bag up and tossed it over his shoulder

"After all I've seen... gore doesn't sicken me anymore...", he said coolly

"Ok...", Jessie said, a little puzzled

Josh proceed to type very fast on the computer, his finger speed impressing the others. When he had hit the final key, he looked around at the others surrounding him.

"Is everyone prepared..."

Upon seeing the others nodding in agreement, he slowly pressed in the ENTER key and a black glow emenated from the monitor. As the 6 looked on, a whole set of links to reports concerning Belger's crimes appeared on the screen. Some of the link names were grisly in and of themselves.

Mondo clicked on the topmost link and as the report came up... three words immediately sprang into everyone's mind...

"Oh... my... god..."

The report they were looking at told about how Harris had kidnapped a budding young trainer right before a battle at the Celadon City gym and used his switchblade to gouge out the trainer's eyes in the shape of the Celadon gym badge, leaving the body on the gym's steps for the leader, Erica, to find

James immediately clicked on a second link, only to look away quickly with a cry of "Holy fuck!!'. The report they were looking at now described how another victim and his Clefable were found full of stab wounds and buried in a shallow grave near the Indigo Plateau, only days after the Pokemon League Tournament had ended

"What kind of man would do these things?!", Meowth asked, gagging and trying to hold down his lunch

As they clicked on report after report, they soon learned that what Harris was capable of was nothing short of ghastly and that was NOT referring in the slightest sense to the ghost-pokemon. After one report, detailing in graphic detail how Harris used his switchblade to bisect a Beedrill and actually eat its stinger, Meowth couldn't hold it anymore and he barfed violently into his bag

"This guy's not a killer.", Jessie muttered in horror, "He's a fucking monster!!

By this point, Josh was also getting uneasy as some of the atrocities that he was learning that Harris had committed were borderline sadistic. He just wanted to get to the last link... the one that would help validate his story..

"One last report, one that'll prove that Meowth helped me escape from his clutches.", he said as he scrolled down and clicked on the bottommost link

As the link's information came up, the 5 of them could only look in shock at the screen at what was displayed in the monitor

"It can't be..", Jessie whispered in shock

"There's no way..", Mondo muttered in horrified dismay

The report told about how Harris escaped his prison, and about who helped put him in jail in the first place, namely Josh and Meowth, and it was then... finally then... that they believed the teen's tale...

"So it's true.", James admitted, all the doubt he may have had wiped out by that one single article

"Every word of it.", Josh replied as he turned off the P.C. screen, "It's all true."

"Then that means.. my life really is in danger!!", Meowth uttered before collapsing into James arms, sobbing, while Jessie just looked at Josh with a scared look on her face

"So this guy's out for Meowth's head?"

"I'm afraid so.", Josh replied, "But Meowth saved my life once before.."

As the teen said this, he reached behind his back towards the long object strapped and, with a single swift movement, pulled it out to reveal a long, sharp katana. Along the blade's edge, a trail of black symbols could be seen imprinted

"..and now it's time I protect his! By any.. means.. necessary!!"

Jessie, James, Meowth, and Mondo could only stare in awe and shock at the huge sword that was now in Valentine's hands..

"Where... where did you get that... that... that... that sword?!", Mondo barely managed to stammer out

Josh gently ran his fingers along the blade of the katana as he looked towards his Farfetch'd

"Farfetch'd, would you care to tell how?", he asked the duck-pokemon

Farfetch'd gave a coy smile and said "That's actually a pretty interesting story... That sword wasn't the only thing we got..."


	5. A Truly Farfetch'd Tale

I had planned to do something funny regarding my lack of reviews and my delay in adding new chapters... but earlier today, I learned of some tragic news. A legendary comedy icon has died... This chapter is dedicated to the loving memory of George Denis Patrick Carlin, who passed away yesterday from heart failure at the age of 71. Carlin, who produced more than 15 different specials, was one of the first comedians I'd ever heard. To not show respect to him in some form, even in a dedication in a Pokemon fic, would be terrible... This is for you, George. Make them laugh in heaven...

--

The screen grew wavy again, like it had with Meowth's tale. But this time, when it came back into focus, it showed Josh and Farfetch'd walking through a thick forest, the former's head covered up by his red bandanna, other than his eyes which bore a pair of black sunglasses and the latter holding it's prized leek in his wing.

"It was a few months ago..", Farfetch'd's voice rang out, "Josh and I were traveling through the Ambenian Jungle, looking for the same thing we'd been looking for since we'd met; something, ANYTHING, that could help erase the pain of his past. What we ended up with, thought, would be something much more valuable..."

As Farfetch'd's voice faded out, Josh and the duck-pokemon trekked through the vast foilage, looking around at all the magnificent bug and grass-pokemon surrounding them.

"Look at them, Farfetch'd... All of them so content... so at peace...", Josh mused to his pokemon friend as he looked at a bunch of Oddish playing, "If only I could feel that same feeling of relaxation that they can.."

"Farfetch'd, Far", Farfetch'd squawked sadly, walking beside his human companion. It was clear that this was before Farfetch'd could speak in human language.

But as they passed a group of Parasect, a faint sound of screaming could be heard

"Mommy... Daddy... HELP ME!!"

Josh looked at his Farfetch'd in alarm. The scream sounded like it was coming only a few feet away.

"Someone's in trouble!!", Josh said before heading off in the direction of the scream through the bushes, Farfetch'd running right after him. As Josh broke through the nearby bush, he was so preoccupied with the scream that he neglected to see that the ground ended and nearly ended up walking right off the cliff that had appeared. It was only the feel of air start to form under his foot that allowed him to stop in time and pedal backwards back to safety. But as he looked down at the vast abyss that he'd nearly fallen into, he could see a figure clasping madly to a rock jutting out a few feet down the cliffside, holding on literally for dear life... As he looked as close as he could, he came to a startling discovery...

"My god... it's a little girl!!", he screamed as Farfetch'd came up beside him. Without thinking, he jumped off the cliff's edge and, quickly grabbing the top of the cliff with one hand, looked below as his legs were only an inch away from the little girl's head. "Little girl, grab onto my legs, NOW!!"

The young girl made a grab of faith onto Josh's legs and held onto them in a vice-like grip, one that would've made a Scyther proud, as Josh screamed up at his Farfetch'd.

"Farfetch'd! I know this sounds crazy, but pull us up!!"

"Farfetch'd?!", the duck-pokemon squawked, thinking his companion had gone mad. He wasn't that strong of a pokemon and he knew he didn't have the strength to lift up both his friend and the little girl.

"Farfetch'd please... I can't hold on much longer... I know you can do it... In times of crisis, the hero inside can emerge... Please... trust me..."

Looking downwards at his friend and the girl hanging on for dear life, Farfetch'd gave a determined growl before he leaned down and held his leek out towards his pal, who immediately grabbed it. It was then that what Josh had just said rang through his mind and, with superpokemon strength, he slowly managed to pull both Josh and the little girl up over the clifftop to safety, watching sadly as the leek broke as soon as the two had gotten to safety. As Farfetch'd stood back, catching his breath after rescuing his friend, it was then that he and Josh turned their attention to the little girl, who by now was sobbing very hard

She was a very young little girl, probably not more than 8 years old. The grassy skirt that she was wearing was matted with leaves and tears. Her tanned skin resembled that of an autumn sunset, the feathers in the band in her black ponytailed hair swaying like leaves off a tree. As she looked up at her rescuers, Josh could see that her eyes, the color of the sea, were brimming with a mix of tears and shock.

"Are... are you okay?", the teen asked gently, trying his best not to scare the child after the harrowing experience she'd just been through. He failed to notice that when he'd fallen back, his bandanna had snagged onto a bush, falling off and revealing his full disfigured face.

"You... saved... me...", the little girl whispered softly "Thank... you..."

"Where's your family?", he asked, worried about her safety.

"I... I can lead you..."

With that, the child broke through the hedge overlooking the cliff and gestured for Josh and Farfetch'd to follow her. But as Josh started to follow, he saw a familiar streak of red flapping from a branch near his head... Almost instantly, he recognized it as the bandanna he used to hide his scars.

"She saw my face... yet she didn't run away...", Josh thought, taking the bandanna and retying it around his head, hiding his damaged face once again and going with Farfetch'd after the girl, leaving behind the broken leek. After about 10 minutes of following her through shrubs, pathways, and trees, the girl stopped in front of a large bush. On the other side of the bush, Josh and Farfetch'd could hear the sounds of crying and praying.

"This... is my tribe..", the girl whispered before heading through the bush. Almost immediately, the sounds of crying broke into sounds of joy and happiness, bringing a soft grin to both Josh and Farfetch'd's faces.

"Looks like our work here is done", Josh said softly, starting to turn to walk away. But as he did, he felt a strong hand clasp his shoulder. Looking behind him, he saw that the hand belonged to a giant of a man. Farfetch'd, with the man's other hand on his wing, could see that the giant's chest was covered in what appeared to be a set of black designs, almost in the form of ancient symbols. A cold look was emenating from his dark brown eyes, radiating with a sense of nobility and bravery.

"Come with me...", the giant said, gesturing with his head for the two to follow him through the bush. More than a little intrigued, the two followed him through the bush. What they saw took their breath away...

"Holy..."

They were staring at what looked like a giant forest village. All around them were straw and grass huts, almost out of a geographic magazine. But what really took them by surprise was much everyone was clamoring over the little girl, holding her in the air, chanting happily while the little girl smiled. Suddenly, the little girl pointed towards Josh and Farfetch'd and soon, the two found themselves surrounded by happy people and pokemon.

"I guess we did something you all must've liked", Josh couldn't help but think as an Eevee, wearing the same outfit as the villagers, curled up against his leg.

"You saved Alinas, the princess of the Ambenian Tribe...", the giant man said, startling the two. "She had been missing for over a week... I thought I'd lost my daughter forever..."

"Your daughter?? But... that means..."

"Yes... I am Carlinos, the cheiftain of this humble tribe...", the giant man said, picking up the Eevee that had fallen asleep by Josh's foot

"Far... Fetch'd!", Farfetch'd whistled, impressed

"So there really IS an Ambenian tribe...", Josh said softly. His father had told him stories about the legendary tribe, about how they were kind and intelligent, always welcoming travelers and lost pokemon.

"You've done a great deed, saving our princess from certain death.. We'd like to repay you two in kind.."

"Sir... I appreciate the offer, but... having her not run screaming from my mutilated face and being able to save her... is more than enough thanks for me..", Josh said solemnly

"Mutilated?", Carlinos asked, "What do you mean?"

With a deep sigh, Josh undid the top part of his bandanna, revealing his mutilated face again and immediately looking down at the ground after a few moments, preparing himself for the silence and gasps of horror that he knew were gonna come. Sure enough, he heard all the happy chanting and singing immediately stop and soon, shocked gasps were ringing throughout the small village. But as Josh sighed and looked up, he could see everyone but the cheiftain and the princess was kneeling down and bowing at their feet

"It's... it's you...", the cheiftain whispered

"Excuse me...", Josh asked, confused and a little scared.

"Follow me... I think you need to see something..", the cheiftain said, heading towards a huge hut in the middle of the village. Not wanting to be rude, the teen and Farfetch'd followed him into the hut. It was there that they saw something that truly left them speechless. In the middle of the wall before them was a glass case containing a large katana, a red-and-gold orb, and a golden staff. But it was the picture ABOVE the case that truly took them by surprise.

"It... it can't be...", Josh whispered, looking in awe at the picture..

"Farfetch'd...", Farfetch'd squawked softly, his eyes wide in astonishment

The photo depicted what appeared to be mirror images of Josh and Farfetch'd... only the human portrayed in the picture was weilding the katana proudly and in his left eye rested the orb from the case.

"That's... that's us..."

"Not yet, it isn't..." the cheiftain said, lifting the cover off the glass, "But once you get back what belongs to you and Farfetch'd, it will be."

"But... but how do I..." Josh started to ask, but he was soon cut off by the Cheiftain lifting the cover off the glass case, picking up the orb, and putting his strong hand on Josh's shoulder

"To make the Ambieye and the Ambenian star one once again...", the Cheiftain said, raising the orb towards Josh's empty eye-socket

"What... what are you...", was all the teen got out before the Ambieye was pushed deep into his empty socket, causing him to scream in agony. The insertation lasted only a few moments, but to Josh Valentine, it felt like he was having hot pokers pushed through his eye. But as the Cheiftain stepped away after fully inserting the orb into the empty socket, the darkness that had consumed half his vision slowly disappeared. Before long, he could see perfectly with the ambieye... in fact, he could see even better than before! As for the orb... it now rested deep within his empty socket, the once-golden exterior slowly transforming into the normal white coloring of a human eye, while the red pupil stayed it's present blood-red color.

"I... I can see... I've got my eye back..."

"Let's not forget your legendary blade..", Carlinos said, taking the large blade and handing it to Josh, who took it hesitantly, but happily. "Remember to only use it on the one who's committed the sin unforgivable"

"Yes, sir..", Josh whispered, bowing respectfully

"Now... to return to your Farfetch'd, the power it once had..", he said, taking the staff out and raising it above his head

"Far... Farfetch'd?", Farfetch'd squawked, very afraid

"BY THE POWERS OF THE EARTH, LET THE CRIES OF FARFETCH'D BE HEARD ONCE MORE!!", Carlinos screamed as a beam of light shot from the gem at the end of the staff and straight onto Farfetch'd, enveloping him in a bright light

"FARFETCH'D!!", the wild-duck pokemon screamed as he was showered by the light

"Farfetch'd!!", Josh screamed, dropping his sword and turning angrily towards the Cheiftain. "What did you do?!"

Slowly, the light died down, showing Farfetch'd actually kneeling on the ground, his wing on his feathered chest

"Farfetch'd... are you ok??", Josh asked, frightened

Farfetch'd looked up at his friend and opened his beak. But what came out would ring out into Josh's mind forever...

"I... I... feel... good...", the wild-duck pokemon spoke in clear english, before his eyes grew wide, "I can speak... I can speak!!"

As Josh and Farfetch'd looked at each other in shock, Farfetch'd's voice rang out once again as the scene went back to the 6 in the cabin

"Carlinos went on to explain about how the Ambenian star was a brave soldier that had once saved him from being eaten by a pack of wild Gyrados, sadly being eaten himself in the process... the sword and the eye were the only things he was able to recover. Out of respect to the one who saved him, he had a portrait done from memory of the one who sacrificed his life to save his and spent years waiting for the reincarnation of the star to return... when Josh showed Carlinos his face, it was like he was looking at the Ambenian star all over again... As for why he gave me the power to speak... he said the star had a faithful Farfetch'd by his side... the last thing he heard before the Gyrdaos ate the star and the Pokemon was the Farfetch'd screaming "Get out of here!!" He said by restoring the eye and the sword and using his magic staff to allow me to talk again, he'd finally repaid the Ambenian star for sacrificing his life to save his own.."

"So THAT's where you learned how to speak english!", Meowth said, captivated by Farfetch'd's tale

"That's right.", Farfetch'd said, "And ever since then... Josh's had one mission in life..."

"To find you... and thank you...", Josh said, finishing what Farfetch'd was gonna say. "But now... with him on the loose... I'll be damned if I'm gonna let him get his hands on you guys..."

"So that's why you're protecting us?", Jessie couldn't help but ask, "Because Meowth did you a favor long ago?

"It's more than that.. Harris is a demon... a soulless piece of trash... He'll kill a person without even a second thought... and once he's marked someone as a target... he'll stop at nothing to destroy and consume them... What we saw on that website may not even be scratching the surface of what he's done..."

"Quick question.", James couldn't help but ask, "Why does he kill?"

Everyone turned to James with "you-can't-be-that-naïve" looks on their faces. It was, quite possibly, the stupidest question any of them had heard the normally insightful James ever ask. But the response he recieved was one not of embarrassment, but of exasparation

"How the hell should I know?", Josh answered with a drop of annoyance in his voice, "For that matter, do you really WANT to know??"

"No.. I guess not...", James muttered, sheepishly putting his hands in his pockets

It was at that point that Mondo got up, his own hands tucked in his pockets as well. "Listen, I'd better go. It's starting to get a little late." The boy turned towards the blue-haired human before he spoke again. "Mind going with me for the ride?"

"I don't know.." James said, getting up slowly "If Harris is out there.. It could be like going into a beedrill's nest!"

"That's something we're all too familiar with...", Meowth thought bitterly

"Then take this..."

It was then that Josh reached into the pockets of his jeans and pulled out a small handgun and pistol, handing the latter to James and the former to Mondo

"It's not much, but it should help keep you two safe for the time being..."

"Where... where'd you get those??", Mondo asked as he and James took the firearms from Josh's outstretched hands

"After I got out of the hospital... Me and Farfetch'd made a stop at a weapons store... these guns have not left my side... until now..."

"Whoa... I guess you really are on our side.", Mondo said, unable to hide a gulp of fear as he turned to leave the cabin, but a tap on his shoulder from James stopped him. "What is it, James?"

"Take this..."

With that, James handed the young recruit the black firearm Josh had given him and looked him straight in the eyes as he spoke gently, but firmly to Mondo

"I've gotta stay here... I'll be better protection here... with Jessie.."

Mondo knew instantly what James was getting at and didn't question him further as he took the pistol from James's hands, "I'll call you guys as soon as I get back to HQ", he added as he turned and walked out of the cabin... But Josh followed him and stopped the young recruit with another tap on his shoulder, causing the brown-haired male to turn towards the follow teenager, "What is it now?"

"Take this...", Josh whispered, out of earshot of the others, as he reached into his pocket and pulled the red bandanna he'd used to hide his scar "I don't need it anymore.."

Mondo took the bandanna and nodded in silent understanding as he left the cabin with the guns and bandanna in his hands and, with one last wave to his friends, the young Rocket recruit drove off as Josh walked back into the cabin

"So what now? Meowth's got a bodyguard.", Jessie said as she closed the door behind the teen, "What are we supposed to do?"

"We could go after that twerp's Pikachu again.", Meowth remarked brightly, "With Josh's added muscle we may just get it this time!"

"Right now, with that sicko out there, I think we should lay low... at least until we can let the boss know about the situation and maybe get some extra protection..", James said, his voice uncharacteristically firm, "Besides, I'm starving..."

"Now that you mention it, I'm kinda hungry myself.", Farfetch'd remarked as his stomach let out a loud growl, causing him to blush and rub his wing behind his head in embarrassment.

"Fine...", Jessie groaned in exasperation, "I'll just order something in...". She started to reach into her pocket for her cell phone before a stark realization came to her... "Wait a second... We used all our cash on that last robot!! How are we supposed to pay for pizza??"

Josh gave off a soft chuckle and merely said, "Don't worry." Without wasting a beat, he reached into his own pocket and pulled out a wallet that the others could see was filled with a hefty amount of cash, "This meal's on me.. Order whatever you desire."

"Ah! My favorite kind of meal,", Meowth piped in happily, "A free one!"

The 5 of them shared a chuckle over the joke before Jessie pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number of the nearby pizzeria and, with Meowth, James, Farfetch'd, and Josh listening, placed the hefty order

"Yes, is this Pokemon Pizza? I'd like to place a large order to go. The phone number's 612-1984.. yes, that's the one.. I'd like to order 10 pizzas with Pellipperoni and extra ChinChouCheese on them, 2 with Sneasel sausage and 2 with Octillery olives... Yes, I'd like 3 sets of Gengarlic twists with it and 3 liters of Corsocola.. No that's about it.. 10 minutes, huh? Alright, see you then.."

As Jessie hung up the phone, a question suddenly popped into her mind.

"How'd you manage to catch that Farfetch'd anyway? Isn't it supposed to be an extremely rare pokemon??"

At hearing the question, Josh didn't answer but just looked down at the ground sadly

"He was supposed to be a gift for my birthday that would've come 2 weeks after the day my family was destroyed.", Josh said, his voice barely above a whisper, "I'd always wanted a Farfetch'd of my very own, just like my father and grandfather had, as well as every other male in my family tree.. I ended up getting it from my lawyer along with my parent's personal effects... he'd left it with the lawyer with strict instructions to keep it with him until the day of my birthday, along with the pokeball it came in. The day of my birthday ended up being the same day that I had what was left of my eye removed..."

"Whoa...", James said, "Not exactly the kind of birthday I'd want to remember.."

"James!", Jessie gasped, horrified at the tasteless comment James had made, but either Josh didn't hear it, or he just chose to ignore it because he seemed to give no reaction

"But if ya got him under the circumstances ya did... how come Farfetch'd was so shocked at hearing how your face got damaged?", Meowth asked

"To be honest, it was the first time he'd heard the full story of what happened to my face. He'd already seen it back at the hospital."

"Ever since I could talk, I've been asking Josh to come clean with what happened.", Farfetch'd said, sadly "But every time, he just says that it's too painful... Now... I know why... Josh... I'm so--"

Josh raised his hand, cutting off the duck-pokemon's apology "It's ok... I can understand why you'd be curious... I can understand why ANYONE want to know what happened to this thing I used to call a face... As well as I can understand why Meowth barfed when he saw it..."

Meowth just rubbed his paw behind his head, laughing ashamedly

"But I'm done... I'm done hiding my face... I'm done hiding behind my shame"

Hearing the doorbell behind him ring, he turned and, yanking open the door, screamed "LOOK AT ME!! I'M NOT A FREAK!!". It wasn't until he looked down from his scream that he found himself staring into the wide-eyed face of the blonde-haired pizza man

"That'll be 62.86..."

--

George Carlin... May 12th, 1937 - June 22nd, 2008.


	6. A Slice of Torment

C'mon people! Only one person's reviewed this so far... That hurts my feelings... Please review or I'll have to do something drastic like ask you nicely again to please review...

This chapter goes out to Brad122 for being the first one to review this. I'd recommend checking out his own fic, "Til Death do us Part". Rock on, Brad!

--

It'd been only a few minutes since the pizza, twists, and pop had been delivered and by now, everyone was busy munching down on the fresh pies, spiced breaded twists, and sparkling black sodas

"So Josh, what exactly DO you do for a living?", Jessie asked before taking a big bite of pizza and swallowing

"Yeah, that was a lot of cash I saw in that wallet.", James added, calmly sipping his soda from the straw he'd put into his glass of pop. He couldn't explain why, but he always liked using those straws when he got the chance

"I don't have a job.", Josh muttered, absently twirling one of the Gengarlic twists in his hands, "All my money is from my parents' inheritance."

"Really?", Meowth said, now curious as to how much was in that wallet. "How much did they leave you?" he asked as he took another big bite of his slice of pizza

The amount the teen spoke, his voice cold and emotionless, was one that startled nearly all of the other diners

"About 2.5 billion dollars.."

As soon as Josh said the amount of the inheritance, three things happened; Jessie clapped her hands to her mouth in surprise, James nearly inhaled the straw from his soda, and Meowth started to choke violently on the bite of pizza he just took, all the while, Farfetch'd just kept calmly munching on one of the twists as he was fully aware of how much Josh's parents had bequeathed to him, seeing as he had been AT the meeting when the teen's lawyer had given the duck-pokemon to Josh as well as all his parents assets. But for Team Rocket, they couldn't believe what they'd heard... Josh was beyond wealthy! James didn't even think his rich parents had THAT much!

"2.5 billion??", James gasped out

The teen nodded and added "My father was a very skilled and very successful doctor, always coming up with the newest medicines to help the world. He always said his role in life was to help humans and pokemon live long healthy lives... but no matter how busy he got... he always made time for me..."

"That's not pigdey feed!", Jessie remarked, patting Meowth on the back trying to get the cat-pokemon to either swallow or spit up the chunk of Sneasel Sausage pizza lodged in his throat. "So where is it?"

"Back with the lawyer," Josh replied, the twist in his hands now looking more like a doughy mess from all the twirling and squishing, "I took very little of it, just enough to get by on... I told the lawyer to do whatever the hell he wants with the rest. The money meant nothing to me..."

Jessie gave Meowth one more hard pat on the back, helping him swallow the bite of pizza, as James just looked at Josh like he'd just said he was Ash's father, the expression on his face actually making Farfetch'd snicker a little.

"But, but why?", James said, totally lost on the teen's reasons for leaving back all the cash that could've helped him have a better life

"It's sad that you lost your parents, but at least they left you a little something!!", Jessie blurted out, seemingly unable to stop herself

Josh stood up with a pissed off look on his face and for once, Jessie couldn't help but wonder if it had been better to hold her tongue as something inside the teen finally started to crack

"You think that money will help take away the pain that asshole put me through?! He took away my parents!! He robbed me of my family!! He made me a monster!! He took away my innocence... The things he did to me... No amount of money can EVER make my pain go away!! I didn't want the money, I don't want the money, and I never WILL want the goddamn money!!"

It was then that tears started to appear in his eyes as he sat back down with a speechless Team Rocket. He felt ashamed for having said all that, screaming like that at Meowth's friends.

"I-I-I'm so sorry. I didn't know.", Jessie whispered, genuinely sorry for what she'd said.

"That's right.", the teen said shakily as he brushed away a tear, "You didn't... I'm... I'm sorry I yelled at you guys like that... It just... it all still hurts so much..."

Meowth calmly walked over to Josh and puts his paw on the teen's quivering shoulderblade

"Josh, don't worry. You're with friends now.", Meowth cooed to him, his voice brimming with compassion for the teen's sorrow.

James put down his soda and gently took Josh's hand in his, holding it supportively as he spoke to him, "Yeah, as long as you're protecting Meowth, you're more than welcome to stay with us."

"I'm sure the boss would understand if we told him the situation. He does have a heart after all!", Jessie remarked, although she couldn't help but add under her breath, "How small though, I don't know..."

"Thank you... Thank you all...", Josh said, grateful for the kindess of Meowth, Jessie, and James, who'd barely known him all of a few hours. "I'll protect you all until the day... the day that death comes for me..."

"And we'll do the same, always staying loyal to you!", Meowth said proudly

"That's a promise!", James said, nodding in agreement

"You'll always have us.", Jessie added putting a comforting hand on the teen's shoulder

"Thank you...", Josh whispered overcome with gratitude, "From the bottom of my heart, thank you..."

It was then that James turned to Farfetch'd, who by now was wiping tears from his eyes, causing the salty water to soak into his wings. It was an action that worried James considerably. "Farfetch'd, what's wrong?"

"I...", the wild-duck pokemon said, his voice shaking with the sobs stuck in his throat, "I've never seen such... such kindness... such compassion... it's so beautiful... But... but what about me??"

"Farfetch'd, you're more than welcome to stay here too!", Jessie replied, "We'd be glad to have you stay here!"

Farfetch'd sniffled before he looked up at Jessie, "Really..."

"Sure!", Meowth said, adding, "Besides it'd be pretty cool ta have another talkin' pokemon around!"

Farfetch'd sniffled again before he let out a wavering smile and spoke again, "T-thank you... Thank you so much.."

All of a sudden, the phone rang, startling all 5 of them

"Should I...", Josh started to ask, but Jessie cut him off with a simple nod. After getting Jessie's approval, he picked up the phone, placing it by his one intact ear

"Hello...", Josh said. It was then that a cold laugh echoed into his ear... the laugh that haunted him every night and one that he'd never wanted to have heard up close again... "No... it can't be you..."

As Josh listened, the look on his face grew more and more pale. After he heard the other end hang up, he felt his whole body start to go numb from shock, the phone dropping from his hand and hanging above the floor, suspended by its cord. He opened his mouth to speak, but found the words all stuck in his throat, not wanting to be heard. At seeing such an adverse reaction, the others couldn't help but feel a little scared

"Josh, what's wrong?", Meowth asked, his voice ebbed with worry

"Yeah, you look sick!", Farfetch'd couldn't help but add

What Josh said next, his voice weak and squeaky, was quite possibly the worst thing that any of them had ever heard...

"Mondo... Harris got Mondo..."

Nothing short of absolute horror could've been said to fittingly describe the looks that adorned Jessie's, James's, and Meowth's faces as Josh slid down the wall, clutching his hands to his head in anger and sorrow, feeling like his heart was starting to be torn into again...


	7. Anguish and Preperations

I wanna apologize for the LONG delay in updating this... just a lot of shit's been going on, what can I say?

And Maddie...

This is for you.

* * *

Jessie, James and Meowth couldn't believe what Josh had just told them and frankly, they didn't WANT to believe it... but as the teen looked up, sadness and despair clearly visible in his mismatched eyes, they knew it was all true...

"So... Mondo's in that madman's clutches?", James was barely able to gasp out, his voice choked as if he was on the verge of crying

The teen was unable to answer, all he could do was look at the four of them and nod solemnly. Jessie couldn't help but let out a strangled cry like that of a dying pokemon, then buried her head into James's shoulder, terrified to the point where she was sobbing. Farfetch'd looked absolutely sick and Meowth could tell he was having to cover his beak to keep from revisiting the pizza and breaded twists he'd just consumed

"The... the bastard said that if you guys want to see Mondo alive ever again, you have to bring Meowth down to Tenobi Hall by midnight tomorrow night and give him to Harris... otherwise, he'll make sure there's not enough left of Mondo to be buried..."

At hearing the name of the place Harris wanted them to bring him to, a cold chill ran down the cat-pokemon's spine. It was a place he'd hoped to never hear about again...

"Tenobi Hall? Ain't that...", Meowth started to ask, but before he could even finish the question, he saw Josh's head nodding and he felt his heart sink all the way to his feet, "No... please say it ain't..."

"Yes...", Josh whispered, his voice shaken and strained, as if the words didn't want to come out. "The same place I was held captive. The same place where I lived through my own private hell..."

"This can't be happening!", James screamed, clutching at his hair in absolute horror, "It just can't! Please say this is all just a horrible nightmare..."

"It's... it's not a nightmare...", Josh whispered, "It's real... it's all too real..."

"I... I guess that means you guys will have to hand me over...", Meowth whispered, tears coming to his eyes, "If it'll save Mondo... I'm willing.."

As Meowth left the room, tears streaming down his face and his body shaking with the sobs he was trying to hold in, Josh could only sit down on the floor, feeling like he was going through Hell a second time around...

"I can't believe this.. This is all my fault.."

"No it isn't.. You couldn't have known...", James started to say softly, but the teen stood up and, nearly punching a hole in the wall, he started screaming, his voice racked with anguish

"DON'T YOU GET IT! IF I HAD NEVER LET MEOWTH RESCUE ME ALL THOSE YEARS AGO, NONE OF YOU GUYS WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH ANY OF THIS! Thanks to me, Mondo's stuck as a hostage, possibly blind, mutilated, or even dead as we speak! If it weren't for me, none of you would be in this mess. I'm no hero... I'm a goddamned angel of death!"

It was all Josh could take as he started yanking at his head, almost tearing his hair out in despair as he groaned and wept, although no tears were coming out. He was tearing and clawing at his head so badly Jessie and James could see blood starting to trickle between his fingers. In spite of her sadness, Jessie knew Josh wasn't fully to blame for it and she walked over to the teen, cautiously putting a hand on his shoulder

"You're.. you're really upset about this, aren't you?", Jessie asked gently, her voice still cracking a little from her sobbing

"What the hell do you think?", Josh spat, brushing Jessie's hand away in his misplaced anger, "I'm responsible for you two going through the same nightmare that I went through! Why couldn't he just have killed me... Why is this happening?"

It was all James could take and, taking a firm hold of the teen's shoulder with one hand, he used the other to spin Josh around and give him a hard slap in the face before he spoke again, his voice now firm and brimming with resolution

"Josh, listen to me! Now's your chance to make good on your promise to be a body-guard. Harris has got Mondo held prisoner! You and Meowth are the only ones who know where that bastard's hideout is! It's up to you two to save him! You can't let despair take you down... You've got to fight back! It's the only chance we have to save Mondo and Meowth!"

As the disfigured teen looked back at the bluish-purple haired male standing in front of him, he knew that everything that James had said rang true. He couldn't give up... not when there was so much at stake... and as he stood up, looking directly into James's emerald eyes, he found his resolve... his determination... his courage all slowly returning to him

"You're... you're right.", Josh whispered softly at first, but he found his voice growing strong with each word that came out, his confidence being brought back by the look of faith in James' eyes, "Damn it you're right! I cried enough when I lost my parents. I'm not gonna lose another friend to that son-of-a-bitch! I... I can't... I'M NOT!"

Hearing Josh speak up, his voice back to it's normal solid self, was all Jessie needed to be able to wipe the last of her tears away and speak up herself. "That's the spirit! We can't let that bastard win! We WILL protect Meowth and we WILL save Mondo!"

It was then that Meowth walked into the room, a firm smile on his face. He'd heard all that had been said and, knowing his friends truly cared about his safety, he knew he'd be safe. But he also knew he needed to see Mondo again, to make sure his friend was still alive... even if it meant going into the depths of Hell itself

"I'm not about to let you go alone!", the cat-pokemon said, his voice firm and ebbing with resolve, "Count me in!". He leapt into the teens arms and gave him a huge hug before he continued to speak. "We can't let Mondo suffer at that sickos hands... We WILL save him!"

As Meowth leapt out of Josh's arms and stood besides Jessie, James and Farfetch'd, James spoke up again. This time his voice rang out with a fierce determination, one that echoed that of a mighty warrior going into battle.

"For no one... but NO one... can stop Team Rocket!"

"So Harris had prepare fo-", Jessie started to say, beginning to launch into the motto that had grown to be accustomed to her, James, and Meowth. But she saw Josh lift up his hand and she stopped mid-sentence

"No.. none of you guys are going..."

"What!", Jessie yelled in shock, "What do you mean we're not? Mondo's our friend!"

"If you guys go too, chances are someone's not gonna make it out alive.", Josh replied, his voice firm and unwavering, "As it is... there's a chance that me and Meowth may end up dead after all this... if you go as well... you could meet your deaths there as well... I don't even want Farfetch'd going..."

"That's a chance we'll have to take!", James spoke up, "If it means leaving our friends to perish... I'd rather die with honor than live life as a coward!"

"Yeah!", Jessie added, her own voice taking back on its normal bossy and proud tone, "After all Mondo did for us, it's time we repaid him the favor!"

"There's no way I'm leaving you to fight that demon alone... not after what he did to you...", Farfetch'd yelled, his wing clenched in a fist... as best it could anyway...

"But this... this could get you all killed! This is our burden... not yours!", Josh burst out

"Well we're making it our burden!", James replied, a fierce determination ringing in both his voice and his amethyst-colored eyes, "After all we've been through with Meowth... whether it was rescuing him from bounty hunters, comforting him after his losses, or even taking care of him when he was sick... we've become more than mere friends... we're family... and a family is never divided in times of crisis... not even if it means risking our lives..."

As Josh stood, looking at James's eyes, he could tell that he meant every word he said. Meowth was more than just a mere partner... after all they'd been through he was like their own flesh and blood... or rather fur and blood... He knew nothing he could say would prevent them from coming along...

"We'll if you're sure about coming along...", Josh said resignedly, "at least get some supplies! Give yourselves a fighting chance against him.."

"No need to worry about supplies...", James remarked as he opened the closet door to reveal a huge array of medical supplies, armor, weaponry, costumes, even rations of food, "We always like to be prepared for just such an emergency! It's how we've survived all the blastoffs over the years!"

All Josh and Meowth could do was stare in awe at the other two, Farfetch'd's beak nearly falling to the floor at the variety of costumes and weapons...

"Are... are your friends usually like this, Meowth?", Josh couldn't help but ask

"Nah..", Meowth replied, a small grin on his face, "They're usually MUCH worse."

"Watch it, hairball!", Jessie growled, overhearing Meowth's quip

James just sighed in frustration and placed a hand on Jessie's shoulder. "Jessie, now is not the time at all for this!"

Jessie sighed in resignation before she turned to James and nodded. "Right... Right... we've got a friend to save!"

With that Jessie and James fetched a variety of weapons from the supply closet and headed for the garage towards their big truck, Meowth running off behind them crying "Wait for me!". But Farfetch'd hung back for a bit, waiting to here from his trainer what he should do.

"Just go, Farfetch'd... I've got something I need to check before we go..."

The wild-duck pokemon merely nodded before he flew off after them. But before he went to join them, Josh went to the computer, turned it back on, and clicked back to the page he'd been looking at before with the gang.

"Mother... Father...", Josh sighed as he clicked on one of the links highlighted on the blackness of the pages background

As the link's information slowly appeared on the monitor, Josh looked at the lines of text describing the fates of the two most well-known victims of Belger's rage.. his mother, Tara, and his father, Kyo.

"I may not have been able to save you two, but at least now, I can avenge your wrongful deaths at the hands of that goddamned psycho Belger!", he whispered before he turned the system back off, making a sign of the cross on his chest before he unseathed his katana and looked at the blade in thought... "It's time to coat this in that demon's tainted blood..."

It was then that Josh reseathed his sword and walking into the garage, opened the truck's door, got in the driver's seat, and turned on the ignition, listening to the engine start up, purring like a Meowth. But as he reached his foot for the gas pedal, James yelled in alarm

"Josh, wait!"

"What? What is it?", Josh said, startled and looking back at James as Jessie, Meowth, and Farfetch'd were doing as well

"Open the garage door first! We're still making payments on this place and we really don't want any more holes in the door... Especially after the last time Jessie got behind the wheel!"

Watching as Jessie slugged James in the shoulder slightly, but having to hide a small grin as she remembered that incident, Josh pressed the garage-door opener and after the door moved all the way up, the teen put his foot on the gas and got ready to start the journey... whispering 10 simple words as he looked at the orange sky in front of them...

"Harris... The end isn't near anymore... the end is HERE!"

And with those fierce words, Josh peeled on out of the Rocket's hideout and the 5 of them started on their way to rescue their friend... as if heading back into the throes of Hell as they knew it.

* * *

Please let me know what ya think, I'd love to hear from you guys!


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